It is not the bike it's the driver. Leave in more time than you need to get from point A to point B. Avoid heavy traffic. Don't ride in groups especially with millennials. Why? Do you really need to ask? No matter what you drive, your driving, that is your responsibility, nothing more. Answering the phone is not in the job description and a liability. All your attention is on driving not talking on the phone, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR DRIVING. Even walking for that matter. If I am expecting an important call and it comes while I'm on the road I get off the road and call them back, I choose not to answer the phone in traffic, vehicle, or foot.
I ride many bikes , 50cc up to 1400 plus. I also teach young new riders (16 yo ) on the street. They have dirt bike riding for years , these 4H kids
The state of electric cars. In Australia, because they are actually willing to talk about these things. Same applies in the United States. They are going to go from getting 70% of their electricity from coal to 30% to 40%, but they have to keep the coal generation capacity about the same if they want to switch over to mostly electric cars in 20 to 30 years. Nissan leaf batteries coast as much as a new made in china electric car, so getting a new battery for a leaf is not economical. (No mention of getting a much newer battery out of a crashed car, in the US there appears to be far more cars in need of a newer battery than the wreck and rust market can provide)
I've been following the new EV revolution for a couple years, since I have to work on them. I'm pleased to see new gas/electric hybrids being offered. I think some new solar charging or in-motion wind charging is next. Anything to cut the cord and provide unlimited range with available infrastructure. Changes in transportation technology can be slow, but are usually pretty awesome. 1825 Erie Canal using flat bottom wood barges pulled by mules walking along the shore. 1869 Transcontinental railroad completed 1903 Wright brothers fly 1908 Model T Ford makes affordable automobiles a reality. 21 MPG and a blazing top speed of 45 MPH 1952 First commercial jet airliner 1954 First nuclear submarine 1961 U.S. completes transition from steam to diesel/electric locomotives. 1969 Man walks on the Moon Since 2017 SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets have been routinely landed on their tail and being reused. 2022 USPS orders 150,000 new mail trucks that get 8.6 MPG with a top speed of 87 MPH. Lots of the stuff that's happened in my lifetime is right out of a science fiction novel. The next big innovation might be as awesome as some of these and leave us looking at our gas/electric powered cars, or even cars that roll on tires like the guy along the canal looked at his mules.
As they are today, sure. As the technology advances you'll probably see solar panels that will be applied just like a vinyl wrap, catching the sun from every angle. The next generation of solar chargers and EV batteries will make current models as obsolete as phone booths and McDonald's employees. Take a look at what your phone can do today. That technology was around 30-40 years ago, it just filled up an entire Radio Shack. We're moving into Jetson's territory.
It's still a waste of solar panels. The panels on a vehicle will sit almost flat. Sitting flat will cut power output by around 30% and I try to park in the shade. Solar panels will only generate dozens of volts, trying to step dozens of volts up to hundreds of volts is very inefficient. An idealized perfect solar cell can only make about 1 volt per cell due to the laws of physics. In the mid 1990s solar cells were making about .55 volts, right now solar cells are about 0.6 volts per cell and it's probably not going up anytime soon. Adding solar panels to vehicles is just adding thousands of dollars in expenses for a very minimal increase in range, want more range put that money into buying a bigger battery.
Solar and batteries are the future. I saw it 60 years ago, worked toward it for over 40 years and still though I am tied to the grid my bill is a wrapping $5.00 . More if I run equipment. I built my system over time because I’m not rich. I don’t go on wasteful vacations. I invest my time in learning and experimenting and improving my life. I like my ebike and look forward to setting up a set of solar panels specifically for charging that bike. Cars are improving, I realize the concept was tried and abandoned however with newer batteries having a system of trading off batteries at home is appealing especially is they are integrated into the home as well. I realize that most people have poor discipline when it comes to the power they use, but I think it’s about time.
Generating and storing energy has always been the key. We are sadly going down the wrong path on both of them. Current battery storage is incredibly damaging to the environment. We just don't have to deal with it because most of that happens in China where the government doesn't care and nobody is allowed to talk about it. IMO Hydrogen fuel cells are the way since we can get it from water and are only borrowing the hydrogen until it;s used. Perhaps not as efficient, but the cells can be replenished almost indefinitely and does no environmental damage. If we want to get away from fossil fuels then fission is where we need to be, and we are getting closer to something practical. Had we spent the money for "green energy" on research combined with subsidies instead on fission we would already be there. Windmills and solar panels are not as green as you have been told. They are only "green" during their operational cycles. Manufacturing and retirement are environmental nightmares. Even during their operational cycles they cause unintended consequences.
Thank you for your take on this...I believe you may be right, need to look into this a bit more. Last I looked fuel cell cost was incredibly high.
It's like any other technology where volume and cost are linked. Think about how inexpensive certain electronics have become through volume. If only a few hundred flat screen TV's were built each year they would be impossible to afford, but instead they are quite affordable due to the volume of manufacture. The biggest cost in a fuel cell is platinum, just like in the catalytic converter in your car. Here is a fuel cell FAQ from Toyota Europe where they are already a reality. There are also houses powered by fuel cells in Europe as well. I had thought the fuel cell had not borne commercial success until an engineer friend of mine enlightened me a bit How long do hydrogen fuel cells last? | Ask Toyota FAQs
If I want to burn expensive fuel to make electricity at about 25% efficiency I'll fire up my gasoline generator.
If you can't do 4th grade math, don't buy an electric vehicle. And this is why if you are going to mess with an electric vehicle you need 240v charging.
That's only true if you are talking by using pen and paper. Those phones in everyone's pocket can probably calculate the trajectory of speeding bullet if you just ask it.
